


First Date

by acooper9716



Category: Outer Banks (TV)
Genre: Drabble, F/M, Fluff, Post 1x10, Post Finale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-25
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:48:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24377512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/acooper9716/pseuds/acooper9716
Summary: An afternoon on the beach leads to a discussion between Sarah and John B on their relationship.
Relationships: Sarah Cameron/John B. Routledge
Comments: 1
Kudos: 40





	First Date

“Sarah?”

“Hmm,” she hummed in response, coming out of the mid-day nap she was taking while curled up in the hammock next to John B. Sarah picked her chin up to rest it on his bare chest and slowly opened her eyes to blink the sleep away.

A soft smile spread across his face as he brushed a few stray hairs out of her eyes.

“What? I was napping and you woke me up,” she complained when he didn’t say anything, but her eyes sparkled in a way he knew she was joking.

John B started playing with the ends of her hair while shyly avoiding her eyes, “Do you think we’re moving too fast? There is so much I don’t know about you, yet here we are living together in the Bahamas at 16.” He lifts his eyes to meet her gaze, “I never took you on a first date so we can awkward and stuff…” he trails off, a blush crossing his face.

Sarah grins, “Was our trip to Chapel Hill not our first date?” She adjusts herself so her upper body lays on top of John B’s before laying her hands on his chest and resting her chin to look into his eyes.

“You were still dating Topper at the time and you refused to let me use that pass to get into the archives without you, so no, I don’t consider it our first date, even if it turned out to be one of the best days of my life.”

“I never trust anyone with a trustee pass! That was a really great day. If you really think about it, we probably wouldn’t be here right now if I didn’t go with you that day. And to think it all started with you flipping over a chain while escaping DCS and me being nearby with the getaway car,” she countered.

Sarah shifted again to get more comfortable, this time laying beside him with her ear pressed to his heart and an arm thrown across his torso.

“To answer your question if I think we’re moving too fast, yes and no.”

John B looks down at her in confusion and waits for her to elaborate.

“The way this relationship started is completely out of the ordinary. Our lives changed so quickly in a matter of days that we needed to adapt so we could survive, literally. We were on our way to find lost gold- who can say they started a relationship with someone while on a treasure hunt?” John B opened his mouth ready to respond but Sarah cut him off, “-and before you say Indiana Jones, he is a fictional character who found a new woman in every movie to hook up with while running from Nazis, not a money-and-power hungry father. He doesn’t count.”

He smiles as he processes that comment about Indiana Jones and quirks his eyebrow towards her.

“Yeah, I know you tried to channel your inner Indy many times during that treasure hunt. What, with all the running and escaping the cops you did! All you were missing was the hat, whip and theme music, although maybe you won’t need the hat… Why would anyone want to cover up your head of hair,” Sarah jokes while running a hand through his hair. 

The hand running through his hair causes a comfortable feeling to spread across him, “That was one of my favorite movies to watch with my dad when I was younger.” John B was quiet for a few moments before looking down at Sarah again.

“So now I know that your favorite movie as a kid was Indiana Jones. What else does a girl need to know about John B. Routledge?”

The pair laid in the hammock for the rest of the afternoon and into the early evening talking about everything- their favorite childhood memory, dream vacation destination, what moment they’d want to experience in history if they could go back in time.

As the sun started setting on the Atlantic and beach-goers packed up their belongings to return to their resorts, John asked Sarah an important question.

“When we were in Chapel Hill, you said that you already knew what the rest of your life was going to look like and that I should be careful what I wish for. How do you imagine the rest of your life now?”

Sarah paused and bit her lip as she thought about her answer. She tightened her hold on John B before opening her mouth.

“I don’t know. Our trip to Chapel Hill and searching for the Royal Merchant’s gold completely uprooted everything I’ve ever known and changed my life. While we were in Chapel Hill, I probably would have said that I would go to UNC as a legacy; join a sorority because Rose would tell me it’s the best decision she made in college but end up hating it; gotten engaged to someone like Topper after college; rush into marriage, realize I know nothing about the guy and eventually resent him; and find myself divorced and an alcoholic by 30. I like how unpredictable my life has become with you and the Pogues,” she sighed, looking into his eyes as she ran her thumb back-and-forth along his cheek. “We don’t know what tomorrow will be like or if we ever will get to go back home to the Outer Banks. I miss home, I miss Wheezie and Kie and JJ and Pope, but I know that I have you as a constant in all this mess and we lean on each other when the days and nights are bad.”

Sarah pushed up onto her forearms to look down at him, “So to circle back and answer your original question, John B, I think we’re moving at our own speed. Sometimes it’s fast and sometimes it’s slow and steady, but it’s our relationship and we set the pace. I care for and about you a lot, John B. You’ve given me more adventure and thrills in a month than I ever had as a Kook for 16 years. I’m really glad I didn’t trust you with a trustee pass, because I don’t think we’d be where we are right now if I did.”

John B lets out a laugh before pulling Sarah closer so he could kiss her.

“Damn, Val, are you trying to outdo my speech from the pier? I was going full Ryan Gosling that day and blew my cover in the rain.”

“If you were Ryan Gosling then I was definitely Rachel McAdams. We were The Notebook, Pogue and Kook style.”

John B and Sarah fell into a comfortable silence as they watched the sun disappear in the horizon. After a few minutes, he broke the quiet moment with a pat on her waist as he sat up and got out of the hammock.

“Alright Sarah Cameron, I’m taking you on that first date now. I’m hungry and I’m ready to sweep you off your feet like you deserve to be,” he said holding both hands out to pull her up and out of the hammock.

Sarah grinned and grabbed his hands to stand up.

“I got on a boat with you before a tropical storm that swept us away from the Outer Banks and the police. Some sweeping me off my feet that was,” she said bumping her arm against his side.

“Okay, that’s it,” John B responds, bending down to throw her over his shoulder before taking off running towards the ocean.

“No, no, no, John B, you better not throw me-,” Sarah screamed out before she was tossed into the Atlantic, cutting her off.

John B was bent over laughing at his girlfriend’s soaking wet appearance, while she stood up and pushed the hair off her face. She sent a smirk his way before leaping onto his back and causing him to lose his balance, taking them both down as a wave came up against the shore. They ran around the beach for a few minutes, John B picking Sarah up from behind and swinging her around.

Eventually he grabbed her hand and laced their fingers together as they trudged up the beach towards the island’s resort area and their dinner.   
  


Sarah leaned her head against his arm as they walked, “I had a really great afternoon, John B,” she said with a squeeze of her hand.

He looks down and squeezes her hand back, “C’mon, I know just the place for our real first date.”

**Author's Note:**

> Wow, writing between 12:15 and 4 am brings out random ideas like Indiana Jones and a lot of dialogue. When I started writing, I didn’t really know what direction I wanted to take this in, but I knew I wanted Sarah and John B to just talk and enjoy each other’s company for a little while. I wanted them to briefly forget about the gold and the hot mess that was their last day in the OBX and just be two 16-year-old kids who are in a romantic relationship and are learning more about each other (not like I would know what that’s like as a 22-year-old, but this isn’t about me).


End file.
